


Something's Always After Me

by AkisMusicBox



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Blood and Violence, Dark Hour (Persona 3), Don't copy to another site, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-13 07:44:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkisMusicBox/pseuds/AkisMusicBox
Summary: Minako's now the leader of S.E.E.S, which means dealing with Yukari and Junpei's bickering, Mitsuru's perfectionism, and... a werewolf who's finally cleared to go back into combat.The pressure's getting to her.





	Something's Always After Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TataBanchou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TataBanchou/gifts).

> Written because even the WIP of TataBanchou's Wolf-ihiko inspired me! [See the finished work for yourself!](https://twitter.com/TataBanchou/status/1189922886833909760?s=20)
> 
> Also, I tried a different writing style for this one because third person past tense didn't seem to do justice to the art's intensity.

Sometimes, I still have nightmares about that first night in the dorms. Yukari was trying to find an escape, and there he was, covered in blood, half-wolf and half-man. His snout, slowly melting into a mouth, was covered in black blood, while his arm and chest were covered in blood from an open wound. His paw clutched the wound as he yelled at the frozen Yukari: "Go!"

She yanked me as I stared, tripping up the stairs.

He doesn't yell in the nightmare, though. Instead, he stretches out his paw. If I run away, he falls and bleeds out. If I try to help, his fangs sink into my outstretched arm.

Mitsuru-senpai insists that his ferocity is essential in the field, and despite the way he talks, he's a controlled, calculated fighter. "Don't tell him, but...he is absolutely vital." She also insists that there are other Persona-users that manifest their Personas in...different ways, but I have yet to meet any others besides _him._

He's going stir-crazy, I know. No sports, no training, no Dark Hour, just school. I can completely understand why he's been testier or speaks a bit more aggressively than if he had his outlets.

But sometimes I catch him watching me, and it gives me goosebumps.

During the Dark Hour, I get it. He wants to give me combat advice, and I'm grateful for it because I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I can't claim to be any better than him, though, since I re-watch the footage from that night a couple of times a week. Preparing to have him back on the team when he heals, I tell myself. I don't tell anyone else because...I don't.

I don't know why he looks at me that way at school. Well, that's not true, I have a fistful of theories, but I can't prove any of them.

Junpei is stoked to get to fight with a werewolf on our side. "I knew senpai was cool, but I never thought he was _that freakin' awesome!"_

Yukari admits it still startles her at times, but, "It's a relief to have him on our side. He's a really good combat teacher, too, so I'm sure he'll be glad to help you out."

He has a fan club at school, too, which is desperately annoying when I need the captain's signature on a form for student council or have our liaison with the police pass a message to Officer Kurosawa. I didn't think I'd make it out alive when he offered to take me to the beef bowl shop after exams were over. _Shouldn't a predator know when other predators are around?_

Anymore, I feel like _something's _always after me. Odagiri about cigarettes, Rio about the team's attitude, Edogawa about dumping strange concoctions down my throat, and of course, the actual monsters that lurk in the middle of the night. It's exhausting. Microwaving a cup of noodles always gives me a moment to zone out, and as long as no one catches me nearly falling asleep, it's fine.

_"Ding!"_

"Fuck!" I swear and jump back, running into something solid. Some_one_ solid. He grabs my arm and helps me steady myself. "Sorry, shit, sorry Akihiko-senpai," I say, shaking my head. His hand's still on my arm.

"Are you okay? You look exhausted," he asks, not unkindly.

"I - I'm fine. Just spacing off for a minute." I try to turn back to the microwave, but he catches me. He doesn't _grab_ me, but his palm pressed against my arm, and he _could_ grab me in an instant.

"We don't have to go to Tartarus, tonight. We can wait until exams are done." I didn't know how grey eyes could seem warm, but he clearly has perfected it.

"You said so yourself you would be ready to go once you got the doctor's okay. Change your mind?" I tease because I'm desperate to deflect.

He frowns. I don't like it. "You can't survive on cup noodles and four hours of sleep a night. Trust me, I've tried."

"Any suggestions on what to do instead?" I ask, stifling the urge to yawn.

His angular features lighten. "Ramen. Ramen always leads to a good night's sleep. My treat."

I'm basically salivating at that point. I bite my lip. "I thought you were taking me after exams?"

He scoffs. "I am _shocked_ you would lump beef bowls and ramen together so callously. They are two totally different culinary experiences, and I'll clearly have to explain it in detail. On two separate occasions."

Yukari says he's clueless when it comes to girls. I was inclined to believe her until he says that because I have to revise it to "dangerous". "Dangerous" because he doesn't know how trapped I am in wanting to keep him smiling at me.

"Fair enough. If you're treating on two separate occasions."

His grin widens as if he was relieved. _He...wasn't sure I'd accept?_ "Alright, let's get going." He pulls his hand away, at that point both of us noticing he had still been touching my arm, and points to the microwave. "I'm the last person to judge anyone for quick food, but that's gonna have to go in the trash." He pulls his hand into his side tentatively.

"R-right," I say. "Wait. JUNPEI-KUN?"

"YEP?" he hollers back, likely from his room.

"FREE NOODLES IN THE MICROWAVE!"

"SUH-WEET! THANKS!"

I smile. "Close enough to the trash?"

Akihiko barks a laugh. "Does he know you call him that?"

I shrug. "He called me 'Dime-store Mitsuru' the other day, so he deserves it."

He hisses. "Low blow, Iori. Oh well, no ramen for him. Let's get going."

_Yeah. Let's go._

* * *

He generally opts to wear a white t-shirt and sweatpants two sizes too big when it's time to go to Tartarus, which leaves me with more questions than answers if I was honest with myself. Once he summons his Persona, he stays in that form until he's either exhausted or the hour ends. He's not strictly brute force - his lightning attacks hit with wicked precision, with barely a flick of a claw. Every word comes out of him with a lower, deeper timber than usual, and he stands ever taller and wider than usual, straining against the workout apparel.

"We are fortunate he's fairly resistant to status effects or charms," Mitsuru admits in private. "I don't imagine we could do anything but run until the night was over in that instance."

He's fairly gung-ho about scouring Tartarus for Yamagishi once we discover what happened, which suits me perfectly well. I wonder if he had any sort of...tracking ability, in that form, but wouldn't that be a...species-ist question? He'd volunteer that information if it's true, right?

This time, he's still in his school uniform. _"Akihiko, why didn't you change before the mission?" _Mitsuru asks telepathically as we make our way through the labyrinth.

"We had to sneak in before the school's transformation, so I didn't want to raise suspicion if someone spotted me. Plus, I forgot to do laundry." He flashes a smirk in my direction, Evoker clutched in his hand. He hasn't changed yet, because, in a perfect world, they'd be spit out right near where Yamagishi was. Maybe his clothes would be safe after all.

I have to suppress a laugh as Mitsuru sighs.

_ "New clothes come out of our operation funds! You need to be more responsible. Incoming!" _

In an instant, Akihiko presses his Evoker to his temple and transforms - at least, one of them would be guaranteed to keep his wits about him as an ear-splitting shriek echos through the halls. The sound drives me to my knees, _are they bleeding?_ I clamp my hands over them and try to focus on the sound of Akihiko's clothes tearing to shreds.

Yukari and Junpei are driven to the floor as well as several humanoid snakes slithered in, spears in hand and shields held high. A low growl escapes Akihiko's maw as he sends lightning coursing through the room. It bounces off of their shields effortlessly. He bares his fangs and snarls, leaping at the nearest snake and batting away a shield in a blur of grey fur.

I push myself to my knees. Clutching their heads, Yukari and Junpei are still on the ground, so I pulled out my Evoker and yell, "Jack Frost!" Shards of ice shoot in all directions from the snow demon, and it at least slows the enemies' advance on the two. The effort makes the room spin.

A tail wraps around my waist. I grab for my naginata, trying to find room to swing it, but a scaly hand rips it away. The tail tightens around my chest, leaving me gasping for breath. All the while tearing and ripping and growling and hissing blend together in the background, with no way to tell which sounds were good or bad. The snake hefts me in the air. I scrape at its flesh in vain to get my Evoker, now pinned to my waist and digging in, but not crushing me. _Not crushing me?_

Akihiko is in the process of ripping an arm off of a blue torso when he turned his attention my way. Straining to keep me aloft, the Naga slowly raises its spear toward me. _It's...trying to negotiate!_

An explosion of fire makes the demon's eyes dart, and in that moment, Akihiko lunges, all teeth and claw at the monster. A paw finds purchase in its spear arm, and he sends both flying across the room, and I'm sprayed with black blood. With a bloodcurdling roar, his teeth sink into the girth of its tail, and I fall to the ground.

He roars.  
He tears.  
He shakes his head and viscera flies.

I grab my Evoker.

_"Over here!" _ a voice rings in my head. Not Mitsuru's. Higher. Softer.

_Yamagishi!_ I scramble to my feet and turned the corner to find her pressed up against a dead-end, shaking, panting, but alive. Not bleeding.

"Are you okay?" she asks. I pull my Evoker out and face away from her, trying to regain my stability. The sounds of winds whipping and roaring are dying down, but I wouldn't put it past one of them to slip by.

"More concerned about if you're okay! Sit tight, it'll be over soon."

And it is. The noise dies down, so I holler. "Yamagishi's here! She's safe!"

"Thank goodness!"

"Woohoo!"

"All right!"

_"Tres bien!"_

I holster my Evoker and turn to her, taking a deep breath. "Just... fair warning. The wolf's on our side."

* * *

Mitsuru takes Yamagishi to the hospital for observation. She's shaken, but otherwise she seems okay. I've got a small cut on my stomach, and Akihiko's clothes are in shreds, but otherwise, the team's in decent condition. We're only a block away from the dorms when the hour ends, so Akihiko is able to dodge into an alley and enter the dorm through the back so no one sees Gekkoukan's Golden Boy looking like a half-naked hobo. It's my turn to put away the equipment, so I take a moment to pull out the first-aid kid to clean up the wound before I drag myself into the lounge. It's empty, save for him. He's still in the tatters of his uniform, arms and part of his torso exposed. His pants are mostly ribbons around his thighs, but he's not by any means indecent. Instead, he's...tired. His head is in his hands, and he peeks out of them when I enter the room. "You okay?" he askes.

"You're the second person to ask me that tonight, and I the second person who's looked rougher than me while doing it."

He laughs into his hands and shakes his head. "Dammit. Just....dammit. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" I approach the couch opposite him and sit on the armrest. "You saved us. I let myself get jumped, and you saved me. Don't worry about the uniform, I'll file the paperwork with Mitsuru-senpai or whatever -"

He bites his lip. "Not that. I...I scared you. Again. After that first night, I swore that I could just lie low, take it easy, until you got adjusted, and maybe...maybe you'd understand. But I did...that. And now, you're giving me that look that Yukari used to give me. She only just got over it when you joined, and now - " He takes a deep breath. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm the one who should apologize," I croak, staring at the hem of my skirt. "You've been doing your damndest to be a good senpai, and I...still can't figure out how to handle this all. It's so much. And I'm so damn tired. I know, I know, it's not an excuse. It's just...a lot. I didn't even remember to patch myself before the Hour ended." I point to the bloody spot on my uniform.

He sits up a little straighter, but his elbows are still resting on his knees. "Don't push yourself so hard. You're doing really well, and we found Yamagishi tonight, that's huge."

"I still have nightmares," I say, still needing to confess. I stare at my hands "About that night. Well, two nightmares. One is that I see you hurt and try to help you, but you attack me. The other is that I don't help, and you fall to the floor."

He swallows audibly. It'd have to be audible because I can't look up at him.

"I hate myself for both of those nightmares. But, the one I hate most, the one that I'll never forgive myself for, is the one where I abandon you." I can feel his eyes on me. I pry at one of the seams on my skirt. "And it's all so...hypocritical of me, considering what I did that evening. That _thing_ that came out of me."

He snorts. "Yeah, but you stayed cute when you did it."

My eyes dart up. He balks. "I mean...it didn't change what you looked like. You still looked like Minako, and it was there, and then it was gone. I'm just..." He gestures to the scraps of his clothes. I notice the way his corded forearms flexes.

"A little disheveled," I finish. "But overall, the same."

He gives her a wry smile and shakes his head. I play my last card. "I am so sorry. I am...so sorry that I will pay our dinners from now on. From now until...whenever you can forgive me, and forget the stupid look on my face."

He laughs. A proper, surprised chuckle and the lines on his forehead finally fade. He thinks for a moment and asks, "Tomorrow? Or, I mean...today technically, after school? You can pay then, but afterward...I'm back to paying."

I grin, which dissolves into a laugh. "I'll need something to look forward to. I can't believe we still have to go to _school_ tomorrow! I got _snaked_, can't I call in sick?"

"If you can convince Mitsuru, then by all means, go for it. But I'd argue you'll sleep like a rock when you get to bed." He finally leans back into the couch. "Though, if you can swing it, I'd recommend going and just grabbing a table toward the back of the library about halfway through the morning. You'll hear the bell, no problem, and there's just enough ambient noise for a good nap."

"Oh, Yukari-chan is right, you are a very good senpai!"

He laughs and runs his hand through his hair. His _bare_ hand, because, _oh yeah...his gloves were probably obliterated. _I make a mental note to ask Bebe about what it takes to work with leather. "Don't tattle on me, or we're all in trouble for that one."

"Deal. Goodnight, Akihiko-senpai."

**Author's Note:**

> [And an AMAZING depiction of part of the battle sequence!](https://twitter.com/TataBanchou/status/1189947298220007424?s=20) Warning: Blood and Gore


End file.
